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"A Family Tradition for 127 Years" Merchants upset by incidents of shoplifting From page 1 in the area is that the friendly atmosphere of the store is being affected. "The most annoying thing is that you can't trust people any- more. We must now suspect eve- rybody who walks in," said. Daphne Mitchell, owner of the Settlement House, said she is having a problem with shop- lifting this year. "Shoplifting is definitely on theincrease." She his not only caught peo- ple in the act, but is noticin products from the store missing as well. "The disturbing thing is that 99.4 per cent of our customers are wonderful and wouldn't dream of stealing anything," she said. "There are very few that shop- lift, but it costs all our wonder- ful customers money." Other stores have been alittle luckier this year. Representa- tives from both Luke's Country Store and Native Perspectives, J. PETER HVIDSTEN / PORT PERRY STAR Scugog firefighters were kept busy on Christmas answering four calls during the day. The first and most serious was at 9 a.m. Christmas morning when they responded to a call to Utica Farm Equipment. The alarm was called in by Durham Regional Police after seeing "smoke coming from the east end of the building. Fire was contained to the workshop area, 'with damage estimated at about $50,000 to the attic and shop. Firefighters from Port Perry, Caesarea and Uxbridge responded to the call, and were on the scene for 3 hours. The - offices and showroom received no fire damage. | PORT PERRY STAR : Wednesday, Decémber 29,1993 - 5 \ have only reported one incident each so far this year. "As far as I can see, we're not doing too bad," Valerie Larécca from Native Perspectives said. Both stores credit increased vigilance in helping keep the numbers down. A number of the merchants also said co-operation between stores has hélped. The mer- chants have been working to- gether to alert each other of sus- picious looking customers. This, they said, has led to a number of foiled attempts and therecovery of stolen goods. As a result, Mrs. Mitchell is advocating that the Business Improvement Area, which con- sists of the downtown mer- chants, organizes a seminar in . conjunction with the police to instruct the businesses on loss prevention. Other owners have also sug- gested forming a network and continuing the merchant co- operation to prevent further in- cidents. Despite the apparent rise in shoplifting this year, Durham Regional Police said the num- bers have dropped in 26 Divi- sion. , According to Staff Sergeant Sandy Ryrie, there have been 37 fewer arrests related to shoplift- ing this year than last year. There have been 553 offences recorded this year. The statistics show that from January to October of this year there were 412 incidents of theft under $1,000, compared with 490 for the same periodin 1992. The figure for theft over $1,000 for the same period climbed by one to 141in 1993. The trend is the same across * Durham, Staff Sergeant Ryrie said, as there has been a 10.6 per cent decrease in crimes to property, which includes shop- lifting. He attributes better policing methods, more store vigilance and "better people" for the de- crease. "So far we're happy crime is on the decrease in the region. 1 think we're part of the statis- tics." BUSINESS COMPUTERS FAMILY COMPUTERS New or Used Get the Full Package All Major Packages Hardware ° Software * Tutoring Setup * Support & Service Call WILLIAM M. SANDIFORD WILLIAM M. SANDIFORD JR. (416) 985-1877 $2 PARADISE BEDDING & BEDS ACIS @ [UT=ToT o JS) =o Tg ff 20d g VAC FS {TRC {To Jo) a BEDS BRASS PLATED TWIN HEADBOARD $25.00 as oF Unbelievable but TRUE! Up to 70% off all display stock! suggested retail $69.00- OUT WITH THE OLD & TWIN CAR BEDS suggested retail $299.00- $149.00 IN WITH {HE NEW I SOLID PINE DAYBED WITH MATTRESS suggested retail $399.00- meme $219.00 [ DRESSERS BRASS PLATED DOUBLE BED suggested retail $399.00------ _$259 00 3 DRAWER WITH DOOR, WHITE $2 49 00 BRASS & IRON TWIN BED suggested retail $399.00---------- ® suggested retail $999.00-===========mmnmmmmnmm- $499.00 4 DRAWER WITH DOOR WHITE IRON TWIN BED, RAINBOW STYLE suggested retail $499.00----------- suggested retail $499.00---==--=========nn=mnn-mmu- $159.00 4 DRAWER, WHITE PURE BRASS NICKLE PLATED QUEEN BED suggested retail $329.00- suggested retail $2,500.00--==-============n===- $899.00 5 DRAWER WITH MIRROR PEWTER & BRASS QUEEN BED N | | suggested retail $599.00---------- suggested retail $1,049.00----============em=ucux $550 00 PURE BRASS SCROLL BED QUEEN suggested retail $1495.00--=-------